Higher Education and Evidence-Based Practices: Response to SRBI

1. Higher Education and Evidence-Based Practices: Response to SRBI Dr. Jacqueline Kelleher Sacred Heart University April 29, 2011

2. Agenda • Era of Accountability and Assessment • Higher Education Call to Duty: SRBI Framework • Components of SRBI • Translating Components into Pre-Professional Programs • Teachers • Related Services • Administrators • Sacred Heart University: Taking Stock in What We’ve Got • Stories from the Field: Degree Candidates/Graduates Reflect • Opportunities, Challenges and Resources • Assessment FOR and OF Learning – Assessment Literacy Issues

3. Public Education Tensions • Accountability • IDEA 2004, Section 504 and ADA • NCLB • NCATE/Professional Accreditation • SPA Program Reviews • NEASC • State Initiatives: SRBI Framework Mandate

4. Evolution of Evidence-Based Practices (EBR) • Current legislation and policy within education emphasize commitment to, anddissemination of, evidence-based (or research-validated) practices (Shavelson & Towne, 2002). Appropriate concern exists that investment in practices that lack adequate empirical support may drain limited educational resources and, in some cases, may result in the use of practices that are not in the best interest of children (Beutler, 1998; Nelson, Roberts, Mathurs, & Rutherford, 1999; Whitehurst, 2003). To support the investment in evidence-based practices, it is appropriate for any research method to define objective criteria that local, state or federal decision-makers may use to determine if a practice is “evidence-based” (Chambless & Hollon, 1998; Chambless & Ollendick, 2001; Odom & Strain, 2003; Shernoff, Kratochwill & Stoiber, 2002).

5. Components of SRBI • High Quality Curriculum • Differentiated Instruction • Evidence-Based, Effective Practices, Strategies, and Methods • Assessment: Universal Screening, Benchmarks, Common Formative, Summative • Progress Monitoring

6. Components of SRBI • Intervention selection • Flexible Grouping • Response to Intervention • Visual Display of Data • Data Analysis and Interpretation • Instrument Design

7. Components of SRBI • Culturally responsive classroom • Multicultural/linguistic diversity • School/Classroom Climate • Positive Behavior Supports • Behavior Modification • Evaluating educational research and merit and worth of interventions

8. Components of SRBI • Collaboration and teaming • Data Teams – Classroom, Grade-level, Department-level, school and/or district level • Scheduling/time • Supervision and Staff Development • Fidelity for Implementation • Allocating resources

9. IHE Pre-Professional Preparation Programs • What does this or can this look like in programs? • Teachers: Initial Licensure and Advanced Practitioners • Administrators • Other School Personnel: Related Service Providers, paraprofessional, Specialty Areas (music, gym, art)

10. Sacred Heart Initiatives • Taking Stock in What We’ve Got • Examining District/State Need • SRBI Working Group • Inventory of Evidence-Based Practices • Seeking SRBI Certificate • Faculty conversations in Department meetings • Accreditation alignment • New courses? Concentration? Continuing Education Units? Future wide open…

11. Stories from the Field • Degree Candidates/Graduates Reflect • How are courses or experiences preparing you to understand SRBI? Implement SRBI? • Are there assignments or course requirements that have helped increase your understanding? • Have you been involved in SRBI initiatives in field or clinical experiences (or as practitioners? In what capacity? • How can preparatory institutions better prepare its degree candidates to support SRBI implementation?

12. Opportunities and Challenges in IHE • Opportunities • Moving an innovative model forward to the national level • Improved outcomes for all • Best practice focus • Partnering with districts • Networking • Research • NCATE Standard 1!!! SPA Requirements • Cross-disciplinary and cross-IHE collaboration

13. Opportunities and Challenges in IHE • Challenges • Districts at different levels in SRBI implementation • Time/Resources • Revision to existing courses/ Creating courses • Lack of models and tools • Alignment to conceptual frameworks • Staff Development • Faculty “buy in”

14. Biggest Concern: Major Functions of Assessment • How is IHE Addressing… • Assessment OF learning • Provides summary information about student status in relation to learning goals or standards at a point in time • Assessment FOR learning • Promote increases in achievement • High quality system of assessment achieves a balance of both

15. D. Use of results to guide Instruction, to help students enhance their own learning, to develop curriculum and programs A. Clearly understood and articulated learning goals (e.g., performance standards,general learner outcomes, unit/project lesson goals, individual student goals) B. Assessment strategies that are appropriate to and aligned with learning goals and C. that are constructive and actively engage students Effective Assessment

16. Wrap-Up • Resources – CSDE: SRBI & CALI http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=322020 • http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2618&q=322294

17. Tools - Websites http://fcrr.org/http://interventioncentral.org/ http://studentprogress.org/ http://rti4success.org/ http://ncld.org/resources1 http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/index.html http://www.nccrest.org

18. Resources • Connecticut State Department of Education • Regional Education Service Centers • State Education Resource Center • Contact: Dr. Jacqueline Kelleher kelleherj@sacredheart.edu